2000
#9,272
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,231
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Widmer
A German occupational surname referring to a basket maker or a variant of "Widmar," meaning famous.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,928 Americans carry the last name Widmer. That puts it at #9,156 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,259 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Widmer surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,259
Census rank
#9,156
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,425 bearers of the surname Widmer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9156th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Widmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Widmer
The surname Widmer is of Swiss-German origin, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "wit," meaning "wide" or "broad," and the suffix "-mer," which was a common element in German surnames indicating a person's occupation or physical characteristics.
The name Widmer likely originated in the German-speaking regions of present-day Switzerland, where it was initially used as a descriptive surname referring to someone with a broad or wide physical stature or perhaps someone who lived near a wide meadow or clearing. The earliest recorded spelling variations of the name include Wytmer, Witmer, and Wittmer.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Widmer name was Hans Widmer, a Swiss farmer and landowner who lived in the canton of Zurich in the late 16th century. His name appears in local parish records and land registry documents from that time period.
In the 17th century, the Widmer surname began to spread beyond Switzerland to other German-speaking regions of Europe, including parts of present-day Germany and Austria. Johann Widmer (1639-1711), a German-born poet and satirist, was a notable bearer of the name during this period.
As the Widmer family dispersed throughout Europe over the centuries, the name took on various spellings and regional variations, such as Wiedmer, Wiedemann, and Weidmann. Some notable individuals with these variations of the name include:
1. Johann Wiedmer (1702-1780), a Swiss Protestant theologian and author.
2. Christoph Wiedemann (1770-1840), a German botanist and plant collector.
3. Gustav Weidmann (1827-1908), a German industrialist and founder of the Weidmann electrical engineering company.
4. Theodor Wiedemann (1857-1923), a Swiss architect and urban planner.
5. Franz Wiedmer (1891-1970), a Swiss Olympic athlete who competed in gymnastics.
While the Widmer surname has its roots in Switzerland and southern Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world through emigration, with significant populations of Widmers and variations of the name found in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Widmer
Among Census respondents with the surname Widmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Widmer bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Widmer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 3,145
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 113
- Two or more races3.0% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
- Black or African American0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Widmer
Widmer appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,722
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,336
+105 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 450 places
2020
#9,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,425
+89 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Up 566 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,272 | 3,231 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,722 | 3,336 | 1.13 | +105 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 450 places |
| 2020 | #9,156 | 3,425 | 1.15 | +89 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 566 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Widmer surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,722 | #9,156 | 5.8% |
| Count | 3,336 | 3,425 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.15 | 1.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Widmer bearers went from 3,336 to 3,425 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 566 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,722 to #9,156.
FAQ
Widmer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Widmer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,928 living Americans carry the surname Widmer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,259 residents.
How common is Widmer?
Widmer ranks #9,156 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,425 people with the surname Widmer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,928), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Widmer.
Has Widmer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Widmer went from 3,336 recorded bearers to 3,425. That is an increase of 89 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,722 to #9,156.
What does the Census say about the background of Widmer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Widmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Widmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (3,145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Widmer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (3.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Widmer (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Widmer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a basket maker or a variant of "Widmar," meaning famous. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Widmer (1.15 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Widmer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.